Futuring Planning,Park Upgrades Mark Progress in Anderson for 2025

Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer

Anderson County Mayor Terence Roberts says a sweeping update of the city’s comprehensive plan approved early in 2025, including new sign and tree ordinances, is reshaping how Anderson will look and grow for decades to come.

He said city leaders took a “very deep dive” into the comprehensive plan this year, examining everything from infill development to overall appearance. One of the earliest visible results was a revised sign ordinance aimed at creating more uniform, aesthetically consistent signage at businesses such as First Citizens Bank, Whataburger, Panera on Greenville Street and a renovated Long John Silver’s that removed its pole sign.

The mayor said those changes are already evident across key corridors as new projects come in under the updated rules. He emphasized that the goal is to elevate the look of commercial areas while maintaining a cohesive identity for the city as it continues to grow.

Another major piece of the comprehensive plan is a new tree ordinance that effectively ends mass grading of subdivisions inside city limits, requiring developers to plan for tree preservation and replacement. Roberts said the ordinance sets minimum canopy requirements and obligates developers who remove trees to plant new ones, ensuring that growth does not come at the expense of the city’s tree cover.

While some residents have been confused because large projects that broke ground recently were approved before the new rules took effect, he said the updated standards will be more visible in future developments, adding that some of the clear‑cut subdivisions that alarmed residents in the last couple of years helped spur the policy changes now in place.

Roberts described the updated comprehensive plan as a blueprint for how Anderson will manage land use, zoning, density and neighborhood character over the next 20 years. He said the plan is designed to guide decisions on annexation, housing and infill so that rapid growth strengthens the city rather than overwhelming its infrastructure and quality of life.

With annexation and housing starts continuing to climb, Roberts said the real impact on population and neighborhood feel will become clearer as more homes are completed under the new standards. He believes the combination of stricter design rules, tree protections and carefully planned density will serve Anderson well as it navigates another wave of residential and commercial expansion.

Roberts also said 2025 will be remembered as a year when long‑planned projects became everyday amenities for city residents, from a revitalized Lindley Park to growing recreation options across town.

Roberts called the transformation of Lindley Park one of the most visible accomplishments of the past year, noting that the project grew out of a decades‑long effort to repair aging stormwater infrastructure and reimagine the green space for modern use. What began with failed drainage pipes and federal infrastructure funding evolved into a full refresh of the park, supported by hospitality taxes and other local sources, replacing old ballfields with flexible open space, updated features and improved drainage that can better handle heavy rains.

The mayor said the park’s evolution reflects both the age of the city’s underground systems and the community’s willingness to invest in quality‑of‑life improvements while tackling basic infrastructure.

“When you have a city that is as old as our city or cities around the country, some of your infrastructure sometimes fails, so you have to fix that,” said Roberts, noting the city chose to upgrade the park rather than simply replace pipes and walk away.

Since reopening earlier this year, Lindley Park has rarely been empty, even during recent cold snaps. The mayor said he regularly hears from residents who grew up playing or coaching baseball on the former fields and who now bring children and grandchildren to enjoy the new layout, walking paths and open green space.

“It’s been open for several months and even with the recent cold snap, there are always people down there,” he said, pointing to steady use of the playground and walking areas as proof the investment is paying off.

Roberts said moving the ballfields to the city recreation complex allowed the city to create a different kind of neighborhood park at Lindley, one focused on everyday use by families, walkers and nearby residents.

“I’ve talked to people who grew up playing baseball or coached baseball on the two baseball fields that we had,” he said, “and now they’re out there walking and bringing their kids to the playground, which is exactly what we hoped would happen.”

The mayor framed the work at Lindley Park as part of a broader 2025 push to use outside funding to shore up aging systems while stretching local dollars for visible improvements.

At Cater’s Lake, which began earlier this year renovation is also nearly complete. That park is also being largely funded by hospitality tax revenues and will bring major improves for both humans and wildlife.

As 2025 draws to a close, Roberts said the constant activity at Lindley Park has become a symbol of Anderson’s progress and resilience. He noted that the project began with a problem few people ever see—collapsed pipes underground—but ended with a destination that now attracts “significant numbers of people either on the playground or walking or something” almost every time someone drives by. “It has been another year, and it’s hard to believe we’re at the end of it,” the mayor said, “but when you ride by Lindley Park and see people out there, you can see what this year has meant for our city.”